Leaf of Fire and Darkness
by Ghost75
Summary: A story that was inspired by the fight scene from the opening cinematics of "Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm: Generations", or, to be more precise, the opening cinematic for "Tales of Uzumaki Naruto" and "Tales of Uchiha Sasuke". Rated T for suggested violence and blood. One-shot with two chapters, one with some Japanese, the other purely English.
1. The End of it all? Some Japanese

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or anything of the characters in this fanfic. This is written without permission (as most fanfics aren't).

* * *

Dawn began to poke its head out of the horizon, its light reflecting off the water on the waterfall below. The clouds seemed to have retreated, leaving the sky lit brightly orange. It was almost as if…as if even the sky acknowledges and admires the dying shinobis.

Countless trees dotted the landscape. A long, thin clearing ran alongside the river's bed, too sandy for anything big to grow on. The large mass of water rushed passed the two broken statues of Konohakagure's founders, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

At the calm river bed beside the falls, a young shinobi crawled towards the water, fingers pulling the rest of the war-torn body forward. A Konoha forehead protector slipped off his blond, slightly spiky hair as he made his painful journey. His Hokage cloak beared rips and scratches, and the last of his chakra still hung in the air. Determination filled his bright blue eyes, his nindo shining through and persisted, even in such dire circumstances. His teeth were clenched together so tightly, his entire jaw shook slightly. Little by little, he made it to the water.

He tried to stand, tried to do anything to get to the other side. But his legs failed him, and he plunged into the cold. Not deterred, he tried again, and again the water splashed out, seemingly teasing him. It was useless, but somehow, the young shinobi did not give up. He pushed himself upwards, his burnt hands barely able to accomplish such a simple action.

Meanwhile, on the other side, another shinobi lay on the sand. For the first time, the black and red combination his eyes faded away, no longer following his will. His whole upper-body was topless, blood from the scratches and cuts on his chest still warm. His long, dark hair was reduced to a mess. The famous red and white fan on a discarded piece of cloth next to him waved gently in the wind. He tried to mold some chakra, do anything to continue the fight, but it was fruitless. The shinobi coughed out blood as he tried harder. He tried to get up, using his fists as his support, but his left arm gave way and he fell flat on his face. Pain shot all the way up to his neck, but the shinobi tried to wave the distraction aside.

_Itachi_, he thought to himself. _I couldn't accomplish what you rightly deserved, not even with your power. I'm…sorry…_

He glanced to the other side of the river. Amazingly, his opponent still had the strength to carry himself to him, albeit one that fell back to the water every step. He opened his mouth to say something, but the energy just wasn't enough to squeeze out his words. Every breath hurts, and attempting to get a message across was not helping a bit.

"Naruto…" he managed to gasp out, followed by a nasty coughing fit.

The other shinobi did not reply, but instead continued his way to his opponent and friend. What remains of his clothes were thoroughly soaked, and his blood washed into the flowing river. _I will never give up_, he thought. _Not now, not ever. I will keep holding out my hand until you take it…Sasuke._

With that, the shinobi summoned a miraculous strength and stood up. He even managed to take a full step before tumbling down again.

_Naruto…_ said a voice within him. _I have reached my limits. That's all I can help you with. Even I have ran out of chakra._

He was instantly teleported to the familiar, dim, flooded room within his brain, a room that only he and the beast inside him could see. The eyes of the fox, for once, seemed to be kind, to be friendly.

"Kurama…" Naruto whispered, "I'm sorry I had to bring you to such a state."

The fox looked away, canine teeth peeking out slightly. It's not everyday that such genuine emotions were presented to him.

"Please…" the young man continued. "Don't bring destruction to the Village when I leave…"

The fox snapped back to the man. "Listen, Naruto. You will live. I will never let you die."

"It's too late for me," he said quietly. "My time is limited in this world. I must do what I can now for Sasuke."

"Naruto…"

"I guess this is goodbye, Dattebayo!" the boy said, suddenly brightening up with his usual smile, eyes closed and full of reassurance. The hardened fox shed a tear as the man left his little mind room.

_Thank you…Kurama…_ he thought, continuing his pilgrimage.

A chipped and broken katana was wedged into the ground by the other end of the river. A spark of electricity still occasional flashes. The dark haired shinobi gazed passed the katana, and into the eyes of his comrade and enemy. Again, he tried to speak, but the words seem to get stuck in this throat, then fall back down. He tried to get up again on his good arm, but even that gave way.

The painful scene was dragged out, seemingly into eternity. Eventually, through sheer will, the blonde shinobi reached the relatively dry sand by the other side. There, he layed in front of his friend, flashing back to everything that happened in his life leading up to this. Everything and everyone that the cared about…Tsunade no baachan, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Sai, and...Hinata, to name a few.

"Sasuke…" he began, though as painful as it was. Already, his eyesight was fading. Surprisingly, the reply was a smile from his opponent. A smile that bore no harm, no pressure and no suffering. A smile that simply meant that, for the first time in a while, the burden on his friend was finally lifted.

Two leaves danced down, one beside the Konoha forehead protector, another by the broken katana.

Author's note: I can't think of a good genre to pitch this one in. If I happen to put this one into a wrong genre, then please inform me. Otherwise, tell me what I can improve on for my next fanfic. Cheers.


	2. The End of it all? English only

Dawn began to poke its head out of the horizon, its light reflecting off the water on the waterfall below. The clouds seemed to have retreated, leaving the sky lit brightly orange. It was almost as if…as if even the sky acknowledges and admires the dying ninjas.

Countless trees dotted the landscape. A long, thin clearing ran alongside the river's bed, too sandy for anything big to grow on. The large mass of water rushed passed the two broken statues of The Hidden Leaf Village's founders, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

At the calm river bed beside the falls, a young ninja crawled towards the water, fingers pulling the rest of the war-torn body forward. A Leaf forehead protector slipped off his blond, slightly spiky hair as he made his painful journey. His Hokage cloak beared rips and scratches, and the last of his chakra still hung in the air. Determination filled his bright blue eyes, his Ninja Way shining through and persisted, even in such dire circumstances. His teeth were clenched together so tightly, his entire jaw shook slightly. Little by little, he made it to the water.

He tried to stand, tried to do anything to get to the other side. But his legs failed him, and he plunged into the cold. Not deterred, he tried again, and again the water splashed out, seemingly teasing him. It was useless, but somehow, the young ninja did not give up. He pushed himself upwards, his burnt hands barely able to accomplish such a simple action.

Meanwhile, on the other side, another ninja lay on the sand. For the first time, the black and red combination his eyes faded away, no longer following his will. His whole upper-body was topless, blood from the scratches and cuts on his chest still warm. His long, dark hair was reduced to a mess. The famous red and white fan on a discarded piece of cloth next to him waved gently in the wind. He tried to mold some chakra, do anything to continue the fight, but it was fruitless. The ninja coughed out blood as he tried harder. He tried to get up, using his fists as his support, but his left arm gave way and he fell flat on his face. Pain shot all the way up to his neck, but the ninja tried to wave the distraction aside.

_Itachi_, he thought to himself. _I couldn't accomplish what you rightly deserved, not even with your power. I'm…sorry…_

He glanced to the other side of the river. Amazingly, his opponent still had the strength to carry himself to him, albeit one that fell back to the water every step. He opened his mouth to say something, but the energy just wasn't enough to squeeze out his words. Every breath hurts, and attempting to get a message across was not helping a bit.

"Naruto…" he managed to gasp out, followed by a nasty coughing fit.

The other ninja did not reply, but instead continued his way to his opponent and friend. What remains of his clothes were thoroughly soaked, and his blood washed into the flowing river. _I will never give up_, he thought. _Not now, not ever. I will keep holding out my hand until you take it…Sasuke._

With that, the ninja summoned a miraculous strength and stood up. He even managed to take a full step before tumbling down again.

_Naruto…_ said a voice within him. _I have reached my limits. That's all I can help you with. Even I have ran out of chakra._

He was instantly teleported to the familiar, dim, flooded room within his brain, a room that only he and the beast inside him could see. The eyes of the fox, for once, seemed to be kind, to be friendly.

"Kurama…" Naruto whispered, "I'm sorry I had to bring you to such a state."

The fox looked away, canine teeth peeking out slightly. It's not everyday that such genuine emotions were presented to him.

"Please…" the young man continued. "Don't bring destruction to the Village when I leave…"

The fox snapped back to the man. "Listen, Naruto. You will live. I will never let you die."

"It's too late for me," he said quietly. "My time is limited in this world. I must do what I can now for Sasuke."

"Naruto…"

"I guess this is goodbye, ya know?" the boy said, suddenly brightening up with his usual smile, eyes closed and full of reassurance. The hardened fox shed a tear as the man left his little mind room.

_Thank you…Kurama…_ he thought, continuing his pilgrimage.

A chipped and broken katana was wedged into the ground by the other end of the river. A spark of electricity still occasional flashes. The dark haired ninja gazed passed the katana, and into the eyes of his comrade and enemy. Again, he tried to speak, but the words seem to get stuck in this throat, then fall back down. He tried to get up again on his good arm, but even that gave way.

The painful scene was dragged out, seemingly into eternity. Eventually, through sheer will, the blonde ninja reached the relatively dry sand by the other side. There, he layed in front of his friend, flashing back to everything that happened in his life leading up to this. Everything and everyone that the cared about…Granny Tsunade, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Sai, and…Hinata, to name a few.

"Sasuke…" he began, though as painful as it was. Already, his eyesight was fading. Surprisingly, the reply was a smile from his opponent. A smile that bore no harm, no pressure and no suffering. A smile that simply meant that, for the first time in a while, the burden on his friend was finally lifted.

Two leaves danced down, one beside the Leaf forehead protector, another by the broken katana.

Author's note: I can't think of a good genre to pitch this one in. If I happen to put this one into a wrong genre, then please inform me. Otherwise, tell me what I can improve on for my next fanfic. Cheers.


End file.
